Posts by JWinSF

54

Will you go to the memorial

by freeborg in

jw
friends

i have never missed a memorial in 20 years of being a jw, but this year will be the first one i miss because i refuse to set foot in any kingdom hall.

i was wondering how many that post here will attend the memorial and if so why?.

do you feel pressured into going by family or friends?.

No plans at the present for attending. However a few years back I went to my home Congregation. It was an affirmation for me: That I could enter the KH and know that the JWs had no residual control on me. I was able to speak with a few other non-JWs who went to the Memorial merely to please other family members. It was a real hoot. I could speak freely with them [and did] while the nearby JWs could only listen and not respond. One young man who was the grandson of my closest JW friend and I chatted extensively, including my being gay and going to gay bars/clubs in San Francisco. I think a few JW pacemakers flickered upon hearing that.

The following year, some other ex-JWs also wanted to do the same, so I went along for "moral support" to a congregation in South San Francisco.

But, for me, I have no need to go back. I'll go if someone else wants to go and needs some support. But, again, for me, nope. I don't plug into Christianity, let alone the JWs.

34

I am a daddy!

by dedalus in

jw
friends

my daughter was born at 9:05am tuesday morning.

she's a skinny little thing, 7 pounds 5 ounces, with a shock of black hair, her father's chin, her mother's eyes, and a fetish for sucking on fingertips that neither of us recognize in ourselves.

i'll post pictures when i have them up somewhere ... meanwhile, foxy and i are trying to catch as much sleep as possible, which is precious little sleep at all.

JWinSF

Fab-est-vous!!!

Bet the Grandmom's are thrilled, too.

27

Elders told: Watch for the signs!

by ozziepost in

jw
friends

from the audio of the kms posted by kent the other day, it's enlightening to listen to the talk on the inactive.

watch for the tell-tale signs the elders are to look for in the notes that follow:.

congregation book study overseers assisting the inactive.

JWinSF

>>>
Another group is the disfellowshiped ones. Call on those who are no longer practicing sin (Luke 15:4-7)
>>>

I love this. How are they supposed to know those "no longer practicing sin" unless they DO call on them? Don't call on those practicing sin, gimme a break.

16

Destroy or Reform the WT?

by ThiChi in

jw
friends

i ask this question: lets say for a moment the jw world does come crashing down (very unlikely).

who would fill the void left by the jws?

more moonies?

JWinSF

I don't think that it will be destroyed or reformed. Instead, I think that a group of JWs who do their own thinking but still buy into the basic theological stuff [but not the stupid rules/regulations/control] will get so disappointed with the current JWs and will start a new type of JWs. The existing JW structure will remain for those who like to be controlled and have their thinking done for themselves. This latter group will tend to be of low membership while the new JWs will continue to grow.

Then, you'll have basically an Orthodox JW group and a Reformed JW group, just like you have in most other religions.

59

Guilt over Self-Pleasuring as a Dub. You?

by Lari in

i'm wondering if any of you suffered major guilt over getting yourself off while a dub.

or did you all manage to abstain until you left?

i know it was one of the main reasons i left.

JWinSF

Yup, was racked with self-guilt. I was an elder and was able to get to the point where it was once or twice a month. But, even so, I felt self-condemned. I stupidly went to some other elders who then went to the CO. They said for me to work on controlling it and that they would be there to help me. Well, they never once asked how I was doing until about one year later. The same CO brought up the question and the PO came to me asking me if I'd gotten it under control [the first time he ever inquired in one year, let alone help me]. I said no, that it still occasionally occured. He said that either I'd have to step down or be removed. So, I chose to step down. That way, it would look better.

I remember the CO saying that one way I could get control over it would be to marry. Yeah, right. I was a gay man [not known to them at the time] and celibate. I had no options, other than to go into a sham marriage, and probably still J.O.

Funny thing, after the CO visit, another single, somewhat older elder came to me on the side and said "I really don't think that they should have you step down over this. It's a personal matter." That told me right then and there that he was probably jerking off as well and was wise enough not to tell them.

40

Which is the most ridiculous religion?

by sleepy in

jw
friends

most of us now laugh at the witnesses, but i think compared to some others they are quite reasonable ( notice i said compared).. so which religion has the most crazy beliefs.. i dont have much knowledge of these religions but i'll mention what i know , feel free to add your own points or correct me if i'm wrong.. i'll start with.. mormons,.

believe jews migrated to america.and that we are angels on earth being tested.. monnies,.

believe rev moon is jesus on earth.they also use (missuse) quatum physics to prove their beliefs.. scientology,.

JWinSF

The JWs, Mormans, Moonies, and Scientologists are all labeled as cults by most cult experts. They all definitely match the qualifiying characteristics of being cults.

They're all dangerous in that they needlessly control their members actions, IMO.

Also, while the stated beliefs at the top posting of the Mormans, Moonies, and Scienologists do appear to be wacky, they don't hold the title for being crazier than the JWs. After all, the JWs at one time said that it was the literal heart that was the seat of all motivation/emotion. They even provided very stretched "proofs" to support their case. Also, the JW forbidding of blood would seem equally crazy by the Mormans, Moonies, and Scientologists and any other religious group. The shaky doctrine of the generation of 1914, the numerous failed predictions of the "End of this System of Things", and many more examples of JW theology also seem quite ludicrous when compared to the theological stances of other religions.

So, nope, I think the JWs are just as screwed up as the other cults that were mentioned.

6

John Edwards

by Judith in

jw
friends

any thoughts on how he gets his info on dead people to feed back to families.

he seems to give out info that only the dead person would know.. is there a presence that exists after death?

are there people floating around before they go to wherever?

JWinSF

I'd like to believe in John Edward, and actually kinda did for a short while. Then, I did some checking on the Net. Here are two links that show [1] he is to be believed, [2] he is not to be believed.

I personally am of the opinion that he probably is just a showman, not a true psychic.

He is to be believed
http://talkshows.about.com/library/presskit/blskeptic.htm

He is not to be believed
http://www.csicop.org/genx/edward/

22

McDonalds Prohibited?

by DakotaRed in

jw
friends

given how the org went after tobacco in the late sixties, resulting in it's total prohibition in the early seventies, based on the health communities claims of how bad it was destroying the body (a claim not disputed by me) and how they made it a disfellowshipping offense to smoke, chew or otherwise use tobacco, i wonder if they will now ban eating at mcdonalds?.

there is a group out there of health professionals (or claimed) that wish to heavily tax mcdonalds and other so called junk food places.

the taxes would be used to treat all the millions of people who are afflicted with the dreaded disease of obesity and to combat the rising costs of treating these poor misguided individuals that have been led astray, thinking they were getting healthy food at the loacl greasy pits.. will the elders start smelling everyone's breath upon entry to the kingdom halls for tell tale signs of mustard and pickles?

JWinSF

Nah, they wouldn't go after Mickie D's. Not because there isn't substantiation for the company's [and many other fast food places and restaurants in general] contributing to poor nutrition. The real reason is that the guys in Brooklyn like junk food too much.

Remember when they used to serve meals at the Conventions/Assemblies? I remember when they took diet soft drinks off of the menu in that they shouldn't be served because of the [at that time a big topic in the news] danger of artificial sweeteners. Yeah, right. But they gave us the lard bucket versions of the golden arches "Egg McMuffin". Not to mention the deep fried chicken, the preservative super-charged lunch meats, etc. With the exception of the fruit bags, everything else seemed to be high fat/carb/sodium based items.

Funny, I remember how many of us looked forward to eating that gunk. I guess it was really that subconsciously we really hated the talks and couldn't wait for a break, even if it was for lousy food.

57

Name a 'Bad Elder, CC, DO.' !!!

by Mr Bean in

jw
friends

sorry.... i'm chicken shit, ok?.

bwahahahahahaha...

JWinSF

Can't remember his first name, but his last name was Brown. He wasn't a very big man. He was black and came from Bethel. He came out to the Detroit area in the late 70's. There was a lot of "cleaning up" in the Congregations, i.e., mass disfellowshippings and removals of elders/ministerial servants.

He came out to "assist" with the judicial committee work. He also, as I recall, came to go over the "Pay Attention to Yourselves and All of the Flock" [correct name?] elder's manual.

He was such a hard-liner and devoid of normal human sympathies/emotions that MANY of the JW tried and true, stay by Jehovah's Organization, Elders just couldn't stomach him.

83

Special Dub Words That Make You Go YUK!

by Englishman in

jw
friends

for me, the word was "loving".. great "loving" kindness.. great undeserved "loving" kindness!.

disfellowshipping is a "loving" provision.. when the wtbts want their accolytes to swallow another bitter pill, another restriction, another rebuke, another demand on time, the buzz word is "loving".. the "loving" word, is, to the average jw, the same as the mccabe nod is to the salesman.

the mccabe nod is used by salesman all the time to get the prospective customer to agree to something that he doesn't care for too much.

JWinSF

[1] Doubtless [fill in the rest of the phrase]
[2] Surely [fill in the rest of the phrase]
[3] Antitypical fullfillment [they stretch the so-called parallel fullfillments ad nauseam]
[4] Unity [they don't have it, they have uniformity --- a BIG difference]
[5] Cleanness [the correct word is cleanliness]
[6] We're so close to the end [yeah, been so close for over one hundred years]
[7] Interested people
[8] The hyphenated titles of articles, e.g., "Blood Transfusions - How Safe?"
[9] A blast from the past: "The Disco Lifestyle" [LOL]
[10] The clunky wording of the New World Translation